Fun and Games
by TheLameDaydreamer
Summary: With the appearance of a new video game, a killer by the street name of "Joker" gains notoriety. Things go too far when students start becoming the newest targets of Joker's crime spree, especially by online harassment before killing them and leaving a signature calling card. Can our favorite little detective stop them before they strike those who matter most to him?
1. One Shot

_Hi everyone! :D So I'm going to try out this short story idea I've had in my mind for quite a while now, and below is a concept excerpt/first chapter of Fun and Games! Let me know what you think about this story, and ultimately, enjoy! _

_(The) __**Summary**__ (That Didn't Manage To Fit Into 384 Characters, apologies)__**: **__With the recent release of a popular mass-multiplayer video game, a killer by the street (or virtual-street, whatever you wish to call it) name of "Joker" is gaining notoriety. Things go too far when students start becoming the newest targets in Joker's crime spree, especially by online harassment before killing them and leaving a signature calling card. Can our favorite little detective stop them before they strike those who matter most to him? Please R&R, Rated T, KaiShin/ShinKai, ShinRan, HeiKai (just kidding about the last one XD) etc. etc. etc._

* * *

**Chapter 1: One Shot (Prologue)**

Seventeen-year old Tansho Norogumi felt as if his lungs were collapsing as he scrambled up the stairs. The rays of the setting sun were dying everything a deep shade of red. _I have to make it up,_ Tansho thought. _There's no other escape. _The hallways of the school were dead silent, save for his desperate gasps of air. Shadows danced around him, almost as if taunting Tansho with their ever-changing forms. Pain; fatigue crept up not long after the adrenaline. After making it up the second flight of stairs, Tansho dashed towards the doors leading to another hallway. "Shit!" he cursed. Tansho tried shaking the doors, hoping they would budge. The doors remained bolted and unwilling to move.

"No time," he whispered to himself. Once again, Tansho sprinted up the final flight of stairs, reaching his final, unwanted destination: the roof. To his surprise, the doors to the roof were unlocked, as he pushed through with ease. _Strange,_ he thought. _Aren't they usually…_

Another shadow caught the corner of his eye. _They're catching up!_ Tansho whipped out his phone, hoping to get a signal. His fingers fumbled around the keyboard as he started dialling for emergency, 1-1-…

"Nein," A voice interrupted him from behind. Tansho whirled back, looking at the figure in utter shock. They emerged from the shadows of a protruding vent to Tansho's left. The figure smirked. "German, in case you didn't know. For the word 'no'." The figure stepped forward, in sync with Tansho as he took a respective step back.

"So, it looks like our little game has come to an end, yes?" The figure called aloud. They continued to walk forward, closer and closer to Tansho. The stunned Tansho, losing his coherent ability to think reasonably, continued to step back until he reached the edge of the roof.

"I…I thought we were _friends!_" Tansho stammered, in an unsuccessful attempt to stall the predator.

"Ah, that's where you went wrong in our little game of strategy," the figure countered. "You thought if you could take advantage of me, you would be the one getting ahead, no?" Step by step, the figure made their way, stopping at their final destination in front of the prey.

Tansho whimpered inaudibly, as the figure approached him. Instinctively, Tansho climbed onto the railing of the school's roof, in hopes of getting as far as he possibly could from the attacker. "Y-you were never just a _pawn_ to me!"

The figure gave him a winning smile. "You're right." For a second, Tansho thought that phrase had worked. "Now I'm King-or Queen. Can you guess which?" _Wrong._ Tansho panic increased tenfold as he reached for his phone again. A razor-sharp card narrowly missed Tansho's right hand as it whistled past. Unfortunately, it had caused him to drop his phone in surprise. "Oh! Even better! I'm just part of the King's court-the _Joker. _Would you like to know why?"

Tansho climbed over the railing and held on. _Maybe if I can swing myself back to third floor…_ He thought. The Joker walked over, looking at them. Tansho tried to create kinetic motion by swinging himself back and forth towards the target window. Meanwhile, the Joker teased him by plucking off Tansho's fingers off the railing, one by one. "They say that 'the last laugh is reserved for death.'"

Two flimsy fingers remained on the railing as Tansho grunted. The Joker grinned.

"Checkmate." A few seconds later, a heavy thud down below greeted the Joker.

"A fitting end, isn't it? I see why you've always loved the number one spot," the Joker mused. They pulled out a playing card from their coat pocket. "Now you'll always be first-as the first person who lost the game with Joker." The card fluttered delicately to the ground, its design catching the last ray of sunlight-a Joker with the spade suit.

**(Conan/Shinichi's POV)**

A single sweat bead formed on Conan's temple. _Too bad,_ he thought. _No time._ His thumbs refused to leave their post, as his hands stubbornly clung to the controller.

"Get it, Kudo! Get it get it get it!" His in-game partner, Heiji shouted from right beside him.

"Oi, Hattori… You know I'm right next to you, right?" Conan sighed. Heiji had always been too excited to play 'that new video game'. Surprisingly enough, its popularity had been raging throughout Tokyo for the past few weeks ever since its release. _After all, it's not like you're shouting over head-piece static this time…_

The two in-game characters raced around the battle arena, which was designed to resemble a warehouse. They were each holding their respective firearms in first-person shooter style. _Hah,_ Conan thought. _I wonder how many actual warehouses the game developers have been to._ He recalled earlier times, especially those involving Black Organization encounters. _Can't get too much scarier here than it was there._

"Kudo, BEHIND YA!" Heiji suddenly cried. Before Conan could take a second look, his health bar had dropped to a devastating 0. Conan's half of Agasa's television screen flashed 'HEADSHOT'. He sighed. His character wasn't going to be revived in a few minutes. Grudgingly, he clicked over to his status. 'Killed by the Joker.'

_What kind of name is this?_ Conan thought to himself, unimpressed. He got up to join Ai in the kitchen. "Get yourself killed?" Ai asked, hardly looking up from her fashion magazine. Conan swore he saw a hint of a bemused smirk, despite her uninterested demeanor.

Conan mumbled as he opened his fridge and reached in to get a cold glass of water. Heiji's voice was heard from the next room. "Oi, these guys are dominating!"

"Huuuh," Conan murmured, sipping on his aforementioned glass.

* * *

_Post-Chapter Notes:_

_Written on one crazy, crazy school night. _

_The first chapter's name was misleading, wasn't it? But alas, double meanings:_

_-It was planned as a one-shot in the earliest stages of development (ahemahemdaydreaminginclass) with just a short look at how Conan and Heiji spend their time together XD_

_-One shot, as a concept: "only one shot to achieve something" or "one chance"._

_Let me tell you at least one thing beforehand-I suck at video games. Would you guys like to come up with some potential video game names for this story? Leave your suggestions in your reviews/PMs! :D_

_And about the type of video game genre, ( I don't believe ones like this really exist, but) the concept is essentially a mass-multiplayer online game with challenges every week (i.e. FPS games one week, deduction games, strategy games, etc.). _


	2. NN

**Chapter 2: N.N. (Conan/Shinichi's POV)**

_*' "The man looked surprised and a little embarrassed. "Why, there's no good my telling you things, for you seem to know as much as I do already," said he. "The truth is that the gentlemen told me that he was a detective, and that I was to say nothing about him to anyone." _

"_My good fellow, this is a very serious business, and you may find yourself in a pretty bad position if you try to hide anything from me. You say that your fare told you that he was a detective?"_

"_Yes, he did."_

"_When did he say this?"_

"_When he left me."_

"_Did he say anything more?"_

"_He mentioned his name." _

_Holmes cast a swift glance of triumph at me._

"_Oh, he mentioned his name, did he? That was imprudent. What was the name that he mentioned?"_

"_His name," said the cabman, "was Mr. Sherlock Holmes." '_

"Conan-kun~!" Ayumi popped up from behind, unbeknownst to Conan. "What are you reading?" Her mouth formed a little _'o'_ as her big, innocent eyes scanned the pages, trying to locate the few Japanese characters she could understand. Her eyes zeroed in on a familiar pattern. "Hōmuzu!"

Ayumi skipped over to the rest of the Shounen-tantei. The class was in the midst of taking a short break indoors, since their math test was finished. "Conan's reading his Holmes novel again!" She exclaimed, giggling.

"Oi, Conan, how could you just be sitting there, _reading_ quietly? It's break time!" Genta called over. "Break time means…" He paused for dramatic effect as he reached into his backpack. "Unagi!"

The rest of the Shounen-tantei continued with their break, laughing with other classmates while participating in a larger group game. "Duck! Duck!" It was Ayumi's turn as she walked, standing outside of the circle. "Goose!" She tapped Mitsuhiko's head, and he stammered in confusion before his cheeks blazed as he tried to catch Ayumi.

Conan continued where he left off with his book. "So, is Meitantei-san still grumpy from yesterday's game?" Ai asked nonchalantly as she flipped through the same fashion magazine. Conan turned his head to see Haibara sitting beside him.

_How long does it take to finish one of these picture books? _Conan asked himself sarcastically. He grumbled. "Who in the right mind wouldn't be, if your health points were continually harassed by the Joker?" Conan thought back to yesterday. Ever since that first kill, the so-called 'Joker' had dominated the whole game, taking out everyone multiple times on the enemy team. Namely, _'The Dark Knight'_ Heiji, himself, and three other players.

Before players registered into the game, they were required to take a short Bartle Test when setting up their user profile. Conan's result was _'98% Achiever | 87% Explorer | 86% Killer | 75% Socializer'_. Player results were displayed on profiles, along with their levels and achievements. Out of curiosity after the game, Conan did some research on the said 'Joker'. Despite the fact that the game was just released, Joker quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the top five players in their region. To no surprise, Joker's test results were _'100% Killer | 100% Achiever | 93% Socializer | 86% Explorer'. _

_Some 'Good Game' that was,_ he thought, sarcasm still evident. Conan overheard Haibara give an amused "Hmph," as she continued to indulge in her magazine. He looked at the clock face at the front of class.

"Alright class, break's over!" Kobayashi-sensei clapped her hands twice, catching the attention of the children. _Still an hour left,_ Conan sighed.

**(Heiji's POV)**

'_Oi, Kudo' _Heiji typed as he composed a text message. _'New case is up. Meet at Ekoda High as soon as ya can.' _He scrolled through his phone, selecting the right contact. A cocky, mischievous smile crept up on his face as the name 'Servant Kudo' caught his eye. Conan's contact picture was one Heiji took of the both of them, where he had tricked Conan into looking at the ground to create the illusion of the little boy bowing in defeat. Included in the picture was himself, with a victorious grin and a matching 'victory' sign. '_Message Sent'._

He had originally planned on having a visit to the Metropolitan Police Department to get the wrap-up details after successfully tracking down an escaped convict from Osaka. By the end of it, the convict was scared silly. On their way to the police car, Heiji recalled hearing the convict mumble nonsense, including repeated phrases such as "Nou-men-neh-suki-oh" and one that eventually burned into his mind: "They're looking for the queen's key".

Before he had time to look into the details of the case, Heiji was interrupted by a call received in the early morning from the Ekoda neighborhood on the discovery of a dead body. Since it was now a crime scene, all the students who attended the said school were herded outside. Many looked on in curiosity, trying to get a glimpse of what was happening. The amount who mourned for the victim and the crowd who gossiped about what might've happened were tied in numbers. A few had seemed to mildly recognize Heiji as the famous detective. _Honestly, _Heiji sighed internally. _Some school day off this was. _Cherry blossom petals fluttered down gently with the breeze. It was such a waste; the sight was would've been a nice view. However, the red blood stains were a stark contrast to the powder pink shade of the cherry blossoms. Despite his urge to socialize with the students and try to get some leads on the case, he had a job to do.

The victim, as they had identified earlier, was seventeen-year old honor student Tansho Norogumi. Heiji had noticed a strange card-a Joker with a spade suit. It was indeed strange, for he hadn't seen many of those types of cards. _Don't Jokers usually have no suits…?_

"Estimated time of death-6:30 PM." A gruff voice interrupted Heiji's thoughts. Heiji looked up from his phone. "Judging by the position the body is in and the impact it has received, the victim's cause of death must've been from falling from the roof above the third floor." He nodded up, in the direction of the aforementioned roof. Megure-keibu paced back and forth, gathering notes from his team. Takagi briskly approached the inspector, notebook in hand.

"Strange markings were found on the protective railing, as well as what looks like faint _footprint marks_ on the upper half of the third floor window right below the railing." He reported dutifully.

"Alright, then we hafta see this!" Heiji answered. He began following Takagi into the building. As he turned to leave, a blur of cards and a pair of brilliant blue eyes caught his attention. _What th-_ Standing no less than ten meters ahead of him, in a crowd surrounded by his fellow classmates, was a Kudo look-alike. The look-alike's head tilted up and their eyes met for a brief moment. Momentary panic appeared to flash across the lookalike's eyes, but then they regained their composure and redirected their attention back to their next trick.

As Heiji entered through the double doors of the main entrance, he wondered what was on the victim's mind. At first glance, it appeared to look like a suicide. However, so many things were off if it were to be a suicide. Tansho didn't appear to show any symptoms of withdrawal or depression, as testimonies from family and friends had suggested. He appeared to be in some sort of physical stress when he was found, and traces of dried sweat were evident. Moreover, forensics managed to retrieve a mobile phone in front of the southern door of the second floor. The crew had left the phone as it was, with what looked like an attempt to dial 1-1-9 in the call log. Everything else in the phone was erased, save for a single photo of the sunset taken at 6: 46 PM.

_Why did Norogumi choose to show up at th' school at that particular time? Was he meetin' someone? _He traced Norogumi's steps up the stairs. By the time he reached the second floor, he noticed some faint markings on the set of doors. "Oi," he called out to Takagi. "Matte. Did'ya notice these marks before?"

**(Conan/Shinichi's POV)**

"Alright, class! Have a good weekend and don't forget to study for your math test!" Kobayashi-sensei said as she addressed the class.

"Sayonara, sensei!" The twenty-two students bid farewell in unison. Giggles and chatter broke out as the children broke out of the orderly formation of the seating plan to pack their bags and discuss their plans for the weekend. The Shounen-tantei ran off together after a quick goodbye. Conan wondered what they were up to. He retrieved his phone from his pack. The home screen glowed and a photo of Ran and him appeared as he turned on his phone. A message from Hattori was waiting for him, sent little more than an hour ago. _"Oi, Kudo. New case is up. Meet at Ekoda High as soon as ya can."_

"Oh? What's this?" Haibara asked with minimal curiosity as she peered over his shoulder.

"Oi, oi, oi, what happened to personal space?" Conan responded, eyelids drooping to cover most of his field of vision. The effect was (what he hoped appeared to be) an intimidating stare. Much to his disappointment, Haibara only looked bemused.

Conan and Haibara arrived at the neighborhood in less than twenty minutes. It was surprisingly fast, considering the distance between Teitan and Ekoda. More than half the high school students stayed behind at the scene, and the two had to excuse their way through the crowd while avoiding the curious stares of the teenagers much bigger than them. "I still don't know why you want to come along…" Conan mumbled once they reached the front of the crowd. Heiji was spotted by the main entrance, looking at what appeared to be a cell phone.

"It's for assurance," Haibara stated matter-of-factly. "You saw those students staring at us. It would seem less strange if the two of us were to show up here, as opposed to one little boy."

The words _'little boy'_ irked Conan, but he quickly dismissed it. It was right then he noticed it. A red banner tied to a cherry blossom tree branch, flapping lightly in the breeze. "Heiji!" Conan called out. Heiji looked up, snapping out of his trance. He strolled towards Conan, a half-smile-half-annoyed expression. "Ku-Conan, ya better use yer honorifics when yer around me!"

Conan ran, unexpected to Heiji, to the direction of the tree. "Oi, what're ya doin'?" He stopped directly in front of it, gaging the tree to be about twenty feet. Nevertheless, Conan began to climb.

"Conan, you should be careful!" Haibara called from below. The scene attracted the attention of a few students, and they started to gather in front of the tree. The crowd looked at the child climbing the tree, trying to reach the flag.

Commentary was heard from the crowd. "Go call someone!", "Hey, kid, this isn't a game of capture the flag!". Megure-keibu approached, obviously noticing the commotion. By the time he reached the front of the crowd to call out to Conan, he had already begun to descend from the trunk, carrying the red banner.

Heiji and Haibara ran up to Conan. _'A challenge to the King's Court'_. The banner read.

* * *

_Post-Chapter Notes_

_*Excerpt from one of Holmes's cases, conversation with a cabman on being questioned about a suspect. Can you guess which case it was from? :D _

_-True story about Heiji's contact picture, by the way_

_Now, for some questions:_

_-What is the "nou-men-neh-suki-oh" and the queen's key all about? _

_-Who would you like to see appear in later chapters? _


End file.
